A Critical Miss
by UnwrittenBeef
Summary: After years of loving Star Wars and the expanded universe, I have created this story set in an alternate universe where Luke Skywalker misses his shot on the death star which sets in motion a whole new expanded universe that I like to call "Lightspeed." Enjoy book #1 "A Critical Miss"
1. Chapter 1

Luke missed.

A long held out collective gasp sounded out across all coms as the proton torpedo sailing straight for the exhaust port veered right. It was over. The death stars main full-scale laser cannon fired. Yavin 4 was blown into bits.

The panic surrounding the exterior of the death star increased rapidly. Four imperial star destroyers pushed into view as they broke the plane of hyperspace. Several X-Wings proceeded to be blasted out of the sky. Green laser fire appeared all around them.

"This is it." Luke thought grimly as his left wing was hit. Suddenly three light cruisers appeared in the distance. Rebel backup had made it.

"All X-Wings retreat to hangar bays!" The coms rang out all across the battalion.

"R2 get us to those cruisers!" Luke's X-Wing veered right and pushed onwards towards the hangar bay. With quick aiming he was able to take down several ties in the way. He wished that he could of hit the exhaust port. This lost them the war, and he knew it.

He made it to the hangar bay along with several of Red Squadron. The only good thing about this mess was that there was still rebellion left, but not enough. Not now. Princess Leia had died down there, and it was his fault. He knew he could not stay there any longer. He looked up at the hangar bay and listened to the sound of blaster fire hitting the outside of the ship. A tear went down his face. His only thought was seeing the double suns once again.

Sand picked up off the ground as a small wind gust pushed it to be that way. The sand drifted a bit, fell down, and covered a footprint. The footprint itself was nothing special, just a boot, a simple boot usually worn by one of the workers of the outlying areas of Tatooine. Workers came and went as they needed to. The city after all was a place of buying and trading. It was a massive marketplace, of course, with gambling and thievery left and right. Except, if anyone took a closer look at this boot they might see that it was different than normal.

More sand gusted across the dead land. Shrubs and such rolled around and were kicked up in the wind. Several more footprints could be seen headed towards a small set of mountains across the outside edge of tatooine's inner cities. On top of the mountain sat a small shack. The shack was made out of sand and mud compacted together. Nothing was special about the hubble. No one usually ventured up there, except on this specific day tracks led straight to it.

The shine of the double suns was especially bright as it was noon. The mountains glowed a bright yellow and the heat radiating off the sands was scorching hot. As the day shifted to night, the liveliness of the city died down, and the sound of blaster fire was the only sound in the night air. The only other sound that could be heard was the sound of a door shutting slowly. That door was the door of the hubble.

Luke Skywalker walked inside of Obi-wan Kenobi's old shack. He dusted off the tables and chairs and sat listening to the faint dusty noise from outside. His brown cloak moved slowly in the wind, and he began to take it off. While taking it off, the blue lightsaber that Obi-wan had given him fell out onto the ground.

He picked it up and ignited the blade. The house filled with blue light. He realized all that was lost that night. He threw the saber into a corner and made his way outside. He looked out across the city. The lights were bright and he was dull. It was a void he could not fix. He killed thousands of good men. He was a failure.

Luke woke the next day to find a loud knock at the door. He opened the door to find nothing but a package laying on the ground in front of him. On the package was some writing that he could not understand. He opened it cautiously and found a note inside.

"Rebel killer"

He threw the note out into the air and watched it fly away.

"How did someone know… Let alone find me here!"

He shut the door loudly and stomped back into the hubble. He looked around at the walls and kicked one. It hurt, but he thought he deserved it. Out of the corner of his eye, however, he noticed a small book sitting on a table close by. He opened it and read it out loud to himself.

"The force binds the will, controls us, but it conceals us. The truth lies inside of the lie. Use it wisely. If you are to find this, do not give up hope. Hope is the only way to fix the failures we have commited."

Luke looked up from the book and felt a tear fall down his face. He knew he could not give up, not now, not ever. Suddenly a blue haze entered the room.

"I am sorry Luke."

Obi-Wan's voice called out. His ghost like complection shined throughout the room. He walked slowly towards Luke and watched as Luke stood frightened of what he was seeing.

"Luke, do not be frightened, I am here to help."

Luke walked forward and asked, "How is this possible?"

"I am one with the force. I have returned to make sure you have not given up. Mistakes happen Luke, and I should not of trusted that you could of done all of this on your own. It was my fault…"

"No, I was the one who missed the shot, I missed. I was the one at the helm of the torpedo trigger and I failed. I failed the galaxy."

"Luke. The galaxy is yet to fall. The empire grows, yes, but the rebellion stands for more than a few ships and an attack fleet. It stands for hope. It stands for the idea of peace. It stands for unity. You can be that symbol."

"I don't believe in myself anymore."

"I believe in you Luke. There is a reason I protected you for so long. You are more powerful than you could ever imagine. Luke, there is one way to fix all that has happened. Go back to them and apologize sincerely and find a way to destroy the Empire another way. If anyone can destroy them, it is you."

Luke thought about this deeply. For a moment all he could think about was the screaming of all of the men that were killed, but a deeper thought filled that void. The thought of Darth Vader's head laying at his feet.

"I will return, but you must guide me."

"Lord Vader, our fleet is about to arrive at Tatooine. Shall we alert the outpost in sector A?"

A soft breathing hummed across the bridge. Silence, a quick cough, and a small tapping of a stressed admiral were the only sounds to be heard. The brilliant evil mastermind of Lord Vader stood still for a moment looking out at the blue tunnel of hyperspace. He turned around and looked at his admiral.

"Yes admiral, I believe it is time."

His robotic-like voice sprung out across the bridge, and he walked towards the exit leaving the room. The stress was lifted from the room. Everyone went back to work.

Vader walked to his quarters and flipped a switch on his chair. The oval shaped machine ripped apart and he stepped inside. His armor was taken apart and his body began healing. His mind wandered for a long while.

"Luke."

The machine stopped. His armor was quickly inserted back onto him. He stepped out and walked out of the room quickly. His son was near, but where?

Vader walked into a massive hangar. White troopers ran from left to right, as big pilots manned their ships. Vader walked to his shuttle with several officers. One of these officers was his highest ranking official, captain Van. Van was a galactic republic admiral in the days of the clone wars, and he still showed his pride by wearing an old republic patch upon his chest.

The shuttle was a small lambodian class ship. The ship was white, no shields, and had only one blaster on the front. They would be accompanied by four tie-fighters. The ship took off towards Tatooine, but Vader wanted more than just a business meeting.

There was several mountains on Tatooine. Some of which were never properly explored. The highest mountain of Tatooine was far east from any of the cities. This mountain was called Rak-Vool. This mountain was said to be cursed, for it had storms every day. No one had ever journeyed to the top until now.

Luke dusted off his cloak and pushed onwards up the mountain. Along the way he was met by several falling rocks and storms that had made his journey go from days to weeks. The weeks he traveled kept getting longer and longer. The storms were more frequent it seemed causing him to have to stop and go and stop and go. After almost three months, he stood looking out across the horizon. Two double suns rose. He had made it to the top of Rak-Vool.

"Well done."

Luke whirled around and saw the blue outline of Obi-Wan once again. "Scaring me like that is never going to stop is it."

"I'm afraid not, Luke." Obi-Wan chuckled slightly.

"Why am I here. What is the point of all of this?"

Obi-Wan walked to the edge of the mountain. Then he looked at Luke and said "Maybe there is no point until you find one."

Luke was confused. He never should of came here. Nothing, of course. Just a quest made by an old man. He was angry now.

"Luke, anger leads to hate. Do not fuel your inner hatred with power you can not yet understand. Look now at the sun."

Luke turned around and looked directly at the double suns. Two beautiful colors raising into the sky. Then suddenly, he noticed a small squadron of ships coming into view. He dug out his range finders and zoomed in on them.

"Those are imperial ships! Look there!" He pointed at them.

"Yes they are. He is here." Obi-Wan said mysteriously.

Luke felt a small twitch on his neck. "Vader."

For three weeks Luke took the lightsaber out of his small satchel everyday and trained. Not just swinging it around like a madman, but truly training. His upper front slashes and his back cuts were dangerously smoothe. His several stabs into the sand gave him some sort of sense of what it would feel like to stab a stormtrooper. He cut the air with his blade, the ground around him, the rocks. Before long everything on top of the mountain was covered in slashes and cuts. Obi-Wan watched guiding him from afar.

Then one day something happened. Luke had cut a hole in the ground so deeply that it broke into a small cavern. He peered into it and was curious. Why would it be inside of this mountain of all things?

"Luke, be mindful of what you might find inside of that cavern. Sometimes the unexpected is the most dangerous."

Luke jumped. He landed feet first and controlled his landing softly using a trick Obi-Wan had taught him. Luke looked around at the walls inside of the cave noticing drawings. The drawings depicted some sort of battle, several spears and heads were drawn all throughout them. He noticed dried blood resting on one of the images.

He pulled out the lightsaber and ignited it to light up the room. He found a shelf at the far end of the cave. On it was three books. He walked slowly to it and lit it up. He picked up one of the books and found a symbol on the front. It was a white symbol depicting two wings with a saber blade quite like his glowing out of it. A massive star rested at the center of it. He opened it and the room erupted in a blast of color.

He was pushed backwards up against the wall as images and flashes marched their way into existence. Screams, clashes, and blaster fire sounded all around him. The knowledge entered Luke's brain. He now possessed it as if he had lived it. Suddenly a man came running at him. It screamed an inaudible walls began to fade back to grey and the drawings reappeared. He put one hand to his head. The memories were there, but how?

There was a small staircase leading up to the top of the mountain. The door was rusted shut, and he cut it open using his lightsaber. When he emerged he was met by Obi-Wan.

"The books you just encountered were once part of the old religion. What did you see?"

Luke thought for a moment. "I saw three Jedi. Each one was powerful. Then, they fought each other. A war began, several fighters crashed. One of the Jedi ran at me. He shouted a long word, but I could not understand. Whatever I just witnessed, it seemed like it was meant for me somehow…"

"Yes. When I was part of the clone wars, there was several Jedi who believed in this old religion. I myself never encountered anything related to it, but this does seem very much like something my old master once told me. He himself also encountered this type of book. The book gave him knowledge that he never completely talked about. He died before I ever learned of the books contents."

Luke knew this was no different. He had learned power like no other. It seemed to be there, but he did not know how to use it. The question, however, was if he wanted to use it.

"Obi-Wan, I feel power that I did not own before, and it worries me."

"Luke, if the time comes that you must use it, you will use it correctly I have no doubt."  
Luke looked at the double suns one more time. He knew going back to his hubble would not be an option now. He packed his things and began his trek towards Mos Eisley spaceport.


	2. Chapter 2

The city life was a junky one. No one was nice, no one was clean. Everyone had a certain smuggler vibe about them. Luke knew this and kept his distance from anyone who wanted to "do a deal" with him.

As luke traveled down the rusty paths of Mos Eisley spaceport he noticed several different types of deals being made. Most of them were illegal weapon deals or drug trafficking routes. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed something that made his fear increase incredibly quickly.

"Stormtroopers!"

The word was shouted by the same group of people who were just doing a weapon deal. They ran inside the building nearby while Luke ducked under a small stand. The stand was some sort of vegetable stand being runned by a Rodian. He had ran with all of his goods, so maybe Luke could seem hidden long enough before anyone noticed.

"Check the alley way!" The stormtrooper captain said. Several patrolmen came walking down the path towards Luke.

Luke was worried now. If they found him he would have to act out. He had never used his lightsaber in combat before. He clenched it tightly, shaking, and he closed his eyes hoping for the best.

"There!" The stormtrooper shouted. They came running down the back street. They jumped on a man nearby making him hit the floor. The trooper on the left began restraining him. Suddenly they took him away and the alley way was clear again.

"Imperials on Tatooine? This is insane…"

Luke stood up and dusted off his pants. He made his way up the path once more. After awhile he realized just how many imperial men were around him. Each one was dressed in different types of armor. The stormtroopers signature armor did not change however, as there were several groups of regular white padded suits. Just the captains got an upgrade it seemed. Some of them had bigger weaponry too.

This was to be expected though. They had just won a massive war with the only force who had a chance of stopping them. Luke felt the same trickle of guilt cloud his mind again and forced it away. He moved quickly now wanting to get away from the sightline of all of the imperial troopers.

Finally he reached the same hangar he had once been to so long ago. The time seemed so distant now. He had met Han and Chewie then. They were the best pilots he could of ever had. Now all he had was himself. He approached one of the men renting off their transport ships.

"That will be 1000 credits, sir."

Luke handed over the credits. He inspected his ship. It was an old transport type craft, it had a hyperspace engine, two blaster cannons on the front, and an old type of satellite dish on top. It was nothing much, but nothing much could be something special at the hands of an experienced pilot.

But suddenly he heard a voice say his name. Not just his first name, but his full name. He whipped around and looked at the merchant who he had bought his ship from. He had a comm mic on his desk and he was telling someone that Luke was there. The merchant then placed his hand under the desk he was sitting at and pulled out a blaster pistol and began firing at Luke.

Luke instinctively ignited his lightsaber and blocked the blaster shots right back at the merchant. He force pushed the man up against the wall knocking the wind out of him. He turned around and went running towards his ship.

A large hangar door opened up nearby and five stormtroopers came pouring out into the square. They all had their weapons drawn and fired instantly at Luke. Luke deflected some of the shots but realized that they would destroy his ship if he did not act quickly. He ran up the ramp into the spacecraft and hit the shield igniter. A blue coating covered the ships exterior. He looked out at the door the storm troopers had came through and felt his heart drop to his stomach.

"Vader."

A chill filled the air. The blaster firing stopped. Luke quickly ignited the engines and pushed up on the velocity. The ship flipped upwards and took off towards the sky. He had made it out of the hangar safely. The new task at hand was getting the hell out of there before the Imperials managed to catch him off guard.

Luke had never seen Darth Vader up close like that. The last time he saw him was when he killed Obi-Wan. Vader's figure was still a nightmare in Luke's head sometimes. He had to focus though, because as he left the planet he found that there was a blockade. He flipped up on the hyperspace switch. He did not know where it would take him, but he needed to escape. He watched as green lasers came flying at his ship, but the blue rays of hyperspace were the only thing he could see now. He was off into the unknown.


	3. Chapter 3

Tap. The tapping was rather quiet now. It seemed to be very soft. What was that? Luke opened his eyes. The fire beside him was burning softly in the morning air. He sat up and looked around. A small bird was pecking at a nearby tree. The place was peaceful. It was perfect.

Luke stood up and brushed off the dirt on his cloak. He looked off into the distance. Trees lined the mountains and several rivers were heard rushing down paths beside him. There were small huts in some places, but no big city or town.

Luke raised a small rock into the air with the force and played with it. He made it bounce around in his palm and rolled it over for awhile while he surveyed the nature. It was beautiful compared to Tatooine. The coordinates of the planet he was at was unfamiliar to him. The ship read "Meez-Kool" but he had no idea what that name was or where it was located. All he knew was that he was here, and he was at peace for awhile.

He began a trek down the mountain side. He picked up on several scents. Most of them being harmless, some gases he had never smelled before. It was so magical. He kept walking. Soon he became aware that he was going in circles.

" _What is this…_ "

"Luke."

His name was called. He tried to look around to find the source of the noise.

"Luke!"

Again. He could not seem to track it down… He was running now. Fast down the side of the hill. Around and around and around. Then suddenly he heard his name for one last time.

Snap. His eyes flicked open and he grabbed his lightsaber. He ignited it and swung it around looking around into the night air. He was awake. It was some sort of dream. No. It was a vision? He could not tell which was which right now. He turned off the blade and sat down on a tree stump.

It was quiet around him, there was nothing. No people, no wild life, just him and his small campfire.

"Luke, what did you see?"

Obi-Wan appeared in the blue color of the night wind. He stood looking concerned.

"Why, is it important? It must of been just a dream…"

"Luke, the dream was not one of your imagination. You know as much as me that what you experienced was meant to happen. It was a vision. I sensed it."

Luke realized he was right. "Why did I get this vision then?"

"That is not of my knowledge, but I do know that they are very rare. Only once did I see these and it was at a time of very much trouble throughout the galaxy."

Obi-Wan was thinking of Anakin now. He realized that the skywalker bloodline was now complete. The signs all pointed to Luke at receiving the power that Obi-Wan had once feared so deeply in the days of the clone wars. It was up to him to make sure Luke did not turn to the darkside. He could not fail again.

"The vision was about this place that was almost too perfect to be real. It felt real, but after awhile I realized it was not realistic. It seemed like it was just a dream, but I heard someone yelling my name."

"This is most interesting. It seems someone was trying to call out to you."

Luke looked down at the bright green grass of the mountain top.

"Vader."

After several days of traveling east, Luke arrived at a small farm. It was ran by three men who all seemed reasonably nice. Luke decided this would be a good place to stay until further notice. He began training at night in the stables. His saber work was slowly beginning to improve, but his ability to bend and shape the force was still not yet adequate.

His frustration began to rise when Obi-Wan would only appear in times of complete unimportance. One of these occasions was when Luke was tending to the several Man-Shi cows on the ranch.

"Obi-Wan? Why can't you appear when I actually need help."

"Well, by the looks of things you have no idea what you are doing here either." He pointed down at the cows.

"Ha ha."

The days went on and the farm life stayed simple. It was almost a flashback to his days on Tatooine. Those days seemed like a distant memory now. Who would've thought he would be here and not with the Rebellion.

The nightmares continued at night. The Rebellion was like a continuous stamp upon him and he couldn't quite scrape it off. He sometimes would think he could hear the distant cries of children and their parents weeping. Some nights he would awake and scream.

One night in particular, Luke was reading a story about Tie Fighter models when he dozed off into sleep. This so called dream felt real. It was just like the dream he had when he had arrived on the planet. This time he was not alone. A figure stepped forward and grasped his hand. He looked down and saw that he was a small boy again.

"Uncle Owen?"

"Come now, Luke."

Luke suddenly realized his perspective had changed. He was now looking down on the two walking from the spot. The ground was desert, but the air was cold and brisk. They continued on for five minutes before the dream halted abruptly and Luke was jolted back into real life.

Obi-Wan stood above his small bed.

"Obi-Wan! What are you doing here…"

His shiny blue glow filled the room and made Lukes eyes water. "Keeping you safe. The temptation of visions can drive you to the wrong path."

"Wrong path? Those dreams do not mean anything."

Obi-Wan stood in the room and watched Luke. He began to wonder what will become of the boy. So young, yet so powerful.

 _So dangerous._


	4. Chapter 4

Luke wakes up from another deep sleep and sits up. He realizes it is still night time, but instead of going back to bed he stands up and walks out of his small room. He finds himself in the stables again swinging his lightsaber around and cutting some small pieces of hay and rocks.

He stops suddenly and puts his lightsaber on his belt. He sits down on the hay covered ground and closes his eyes.

"Luke."

He opens his eyes and whirls around to see his uncle Owen standing in the doorway.

"Uncle Owen?" Luke says slowly.

"Come." Uncle Owen points at Luke and beckons him.

Luke follows his dead uncle outside of the stable into the open midnight air. Uncle Owen continues onwards to the outside of the farm where he stops.

"Where are we?" Luke says quietly.

"We are on Tatooine."

Luke realizes that his surroundings had abruptly changed into the sandy landscape of his home planet. The double suns shined brightly over the horizon. He felt a tear fall from his eye that he quickly wiped away.

"How is this possible?"

Uncle Owen walked forward and put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "You can not go into the future if you still live in the past."

Luke looked into his uncle's eyes. "How can I move on. This life I live is more than I wanted..."

"You have a choice Luke Skywalker. The path of light will bring you peace and prosperity. The path of darkness will avenge my and many others deaths. You must choose one of the two choices. Perhaps this is why you see the double suns. Each one has its qualities, but only one can be your favorite."

With one last tight grasp upon Lukes shoulder, he opened his eyes and was sitting once more on the hay covered floor of the stables.


	5. Chapter 5

One year later.

A bell rings.

"Wake up recruits."

Etheler Colechan rose from his bunk bed and sighed.

"Another day in this hell hole and I might explode."

He stood up at the front of his bed and stood at the ready.

"Gentleman. Today marks day 100 of your recruitment training. After today, each of you will be moving on to specific studies that will become your life's work." He began walking up and down the rows of beds taking roll.

The room was full of twenty five men. Each of them wore the same clothing, but none looked alike. Each man was from a different planet from the unknown regions. The soul purpose of this group was to study and examine a way to create a special ops group for the Empire. The investigation started during the end of the clone wars and continued on until the Empire finally found enough men to start.

Etheler Colechan was from a planet in the Unknown Region called Shor. Shor was a planet inhabited by human-like creatures called Shorak. Shorak are more muscular than humans and were said to have a nact for military operations.

All twenty five of the men marched out in unison into the cafeteria like usual. This day was special for them. Many of them would never see each other again.

"Ey, Ethe. Do you know what's for lunch?"

Etheler looked at the man and smiled "Same as always. Broth and pie."

Some men chuckled as they grabbed their signature academy food.

"Ethe. I don't think you have ever mentioned what you're doing after this training?"

Etheler looked at his plate and grinned. "Well, I'm going to look into training to be an admiral."

"An admiral?" The man was surprised. He took a sip of his juice. "That's going to be tough. You think you have the patience for that?"

Etheler looked up at him. "I've had the patience for this place, haven't I?"

The table erupted in chuckles. The man said mid laughing "You got me there!"

Etheler took a bite of his pie. "What are you going to do Tebbo?"

"I'm going to be a soldier for the Empires new elite squadron."

"Yeah right!" Said a blue man down the table. "You can dream!"

Tebbo looked at him and grinned. "Sometimes dreams become reality." He winked at Etheler and continued eating.

Etheler liked the academy. It was located on Coruscant and he was told that it was very difficult to get into it. Many men who had graduated from here had become high ranking officers and commanders for the Imperial navy. Etheler liked the idea of becoming a soldier, but his biggest strength was his brain.

For ten years he lived on Shor, and he was top of every class he ever took. He became a stand out student and moved to the Royal Imperial Academy when his planet was occupied by the Empire. At the time it scared him to think that his life was going to change so drastically, but now his devotion had changed. He was a soul Imperial and he knew that now.

Yet one thing still picked at his mind. The thought of watching his mother cry when she watched him be taken away with the stormtroopers. It was a distant memory, but the crying on his mother's face was something he could not forget.

"Alright recruits. It is time to speak with a high ranking official to decide where you want to be stationed for training. It has been an honor working with such a special group of men like you. Continue on and make me proud." The training officer saluted the men.

All twenty five men said their goodbyes with each other and one by one they met with an official and were shipped off to new worlds and new divisions. Tebbo shook Etheler's and hand and walked away into the unknown.

Etheler was one of the last men remaining in the room. He walked into the Imperial navy room and sat down at the desk.

"Etheler Colchan?"

"Yes, that is me." Etheler said quietly. His nerves would not get the best of him. He would not let them.

"You have outstanding smarts and capability. You were the top of the class in the testing this year, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir." Etheler said confidently this time, his spirits rising.

"You will remain in the Royal Imperial Academy and study under Admiral Shulo."

"Thank you, sir." Etheler said, trying to contain his happiness.

"Congratulations recruit." The officer saluted Etheler.

 _Dagobah_

"I can't do it!"

Luke fell to the ground and screamed in anger.

"Anger you feel."

"Anger? No. Not anger. I have no patience for this. It is impossible!" Luke kicked a rock and sat down on a nearby boulder. He put his face into his hands and sighed.

"Impossible, it is not."

A splash is heard from the water. The X-Wing floated into the sky and sat there suspended in mid air. It was slowly placed down on the dirt terrain below. Yoda stood grinning and looked at Luke.

"Only impossible to those who don't have the heart, it is."

Luke said suddenly "No, I have the heart and the will, but I can't find it inside of me to just do it!"

"Think, you must not. Do, you must."

Luke kicked another rock and quickly raised his right hand. With every ounce of force inside of him he picked up the X-Wing and raised it before letting it fall down abruptly in the same spot that it had come from.

Luke smiled widely and yelled into the air "I did it!"

Yoda closed his eyes softly and said "Did it, you did. Closer to Jedi, you become."

For two months Luke had been on Dagobah with Yoda. Obi-Wan had convinced him to seek guidance from the old Jedi. Luke still had no definite opinion of him, but he knew he was more powerful than he could understand. Obi-Wan still occasionally would sit in on their lessons. His input was short, but Luke did not mind.

In truth, Obi-Wan did not tell Luke to meet with Yoda so that he could further his Jedi training. He wanted an excuse to meet with Yoda to discuss the boy. He was troubled. Obi-Wan spent many hours pondering what the future would hold for Luke. Ever since the day Luke explained his vivid memory of his dead uncle Owen, he knew there was much deeper meaning for his connection to these visions.

Yoda agreed. On one such night, Yoda conversated with Obi-Wan about the nature of the conceptions.

"Troubling times, these are. Powerful, the boy is."

"He has much to learn, master Yoda, but he is dangerous. I sense in him the same power I sensed in young Anakin Skywalker. I do not want him to turn to the darkside."

Yoda ushered a small grunt and said, "Young, he still is. Powerful he may be, but much light in him I see."

"We have seen countless Jedi turn at the hand of evil! We must not be blind…"

Yoda cuts him off, "Let Anakin become the reason you lose trust in the boy, do not. Hmm?" He clicked his walking stick on the ground and walked slowly towards his small hut.

"I will not give up on the boy. I just don't want to watch another good man fall to the hands of the sith."

Yoda opens the door slightly and turns around. "Fail, we will not."


	6. Chapter 6

"Open fire."

Etheler Colechan said the words and watched as the red rays blasted the small civilian spice freighter out of the sky.

Admiral Shulo clapped slowly, an almost sarcastic grin growing across his face, as he said his next words slowly. "You are improving lieutenant."

Etheler looked out at the fragments of the ship he had just destroyed. In his head he knew he had completed his duty, but somewhere deep in the depths of his mind he somehow doubted his actions.

"You seem troubled?" Admiral Shulo says from nearby.

"No, sir."

Admiral Shulo laughs slightly. "Don't tell me you are doubting your allegiance to the Empire so soon? You have just begun!"

Etheler turns around and looks at Shulo. "I would never doubt the Empire. I will do my duty no matter the cost."

"Good! That will make our next mission much easier. We have received word of a rebel cell on the outskirts of D'Qar."

"D'Qar? I thought we captured that planet years ago?"

Shulo motions towards a crewman to set course for their destination. "Yes, that was what we assumed. It seems we were wrong about their loyalty. Several citizens of the planet have been detained and we are going to question them. This will be your next test lieutenant." Shulo grins and looks out at the rings of hyperspace before him. "And what a test it will be!"

Luke was standing at the center of large mountain. Sounds are heard around him as the midnight air slowly moves into existence. It's eight o'clock. Luke and four other men are positioned in flanking spots all around the mountain ridge. It's the night of sabotage.

"Sir! There is fifteen minutes until the convoy arrives!" A small rebel man says from his hiding spot.

Luke nods his head in acknowledgement and puts a hand on his lightsaber. Six hours ago he had left Dagobah after he received a distress call. Yoda had pleaded for him to stay, but his determination to make up for his mistake had made him leave.

"Five minutes, sir."

"Everyone in position!" Luke said as he crouched down next to his rock.

The plan was simple. Two of the rebels had illegal rocket launchers. The other rebel

and Luke were spotting the ship so that the rockets connected. If one of the rockets hit, that would mean a key strategic victory for the rebel cell on D'Qar.

Luke noticed a small shape coming into view in the atmosphere. He waited a moment and pulled out his macrobinoculars. He clicked in the zoom button and calculated the distance.

"There it is boys. 1000 meters out!"

The two rebels with rocket launchers loaded the rockets in. They aimed.

"Three… Two… One… Fire!"

The blast was heard from all around the mountain. Then suddenly, the rockets stopped in mid air. Each one went flying directly back at the rebels.

"Look out!" Luke flung himself off the edge pulling one of the rebels with him. He tumbled down for a few seconds before covering his head. The rockets connected with the mountain and the other two rebels died without another word.

"Shit."

Luke brushed off his arms and stood up surveying his surroundings. The shuttle was gone, and so was his hopes of mending his conscious. He kicked a rock and screamed at the top of his lungs. From nearby, the last rebel sat on the ground.

"How could this happen?" He asked quietly.

Luke looked at him in anger and shouted. "Someone sabotaged the missiles!" He kicked another rock. "How is this possible! Our one true chance at bringing a bit of peace to this broken planet and its ruined because of a black market deal."

The rebel grunted and tossed a rock. His leg was bleeding, but he paid no attention to it. "How could someone rig them?"

"The question is who, not how."

On board the shuttle stood Admiral Shulo and Etheler Colechan. Both stood with grins on their faces. The sabotage was successful. A rebel stood on the ship with them. He had an evil grin on his face.

The rebel focused his attention on Shulo. "Where is the payment?"

Shulo looked at him in return and said. "This way." He beckoned the rebel forward. He pulled out a small blaster from under his tunic and blasted the rebel in the chest. He fell to the floor on his knees. "Enjoy the wealth, rebel scum." He kicked the body to the side and laughed quietly.

Etheler watched in horror. "Why did you kill him?"

Shulo looked out at the city ahead of them, paying no attention to the obvious fear on his lieutenant's face. "War is a complicated endeavour. We can not trust the alliance, nor can they trust us. It was his mistake."

Etheler fixed his facial expression and walked up next to Shulo slowly. "Is that the city?"

Shulo blinked. "Yes, yes it is."


	7. Chapter 7

"Luke."

Luke opened his eyes slowly and looked around.

"Hey, it's time for your meeting. Let's go."

He pushed away his blanket and stood up. "You could've let me sleep."

The boy in front of him kicked Luke softly on the leg. "You know I can't do that M Master!"

The two of them began to walk through the building. They were inside of the rebel base on D'Qar. It was established by Mon Mothma and a small rebel cell a few months after the death star attack.

"So, Master Skywalker?"

"Yes?"

"When am I going to start my training?"

"You are far too young for the type of training you will one day recieve. For now, you must have patience."

Omacar. The boy was only ten years old, but he was not a normal ten year old by any means. In most cases, he was exceptionally rare. He was a human born on Coruscant in the final days of the clone wars. His mother had hidden him on D'Qar with a close friend until further notice.

Omacar was highly force sensitive, too.

"I am patient Master, I am just really eager to begin."

"The time will come." Luke pushed open the door to the assembly room. "Omacar, I want you to go to your corridors. Do not watch this meeting, it will only bore you."

"Yes, Master."

Mon Mothma stood at the center of the room on an elevated platform. Three more elevated platforms were around her and each was slightly less tall than the middle. She stood above all of the rebellion.

"We may begin." A small bothan said from his high chair.

"I'm sure you all understand the magnitude of the situation. The Empire has sent several troops and high ranking officials into D'Qar to search for rebel cells." Mon Mothma began from the platform. "We must not take this lightly for this could be dangerous for the overall protection of the secret base here on D'Qar. I propose we retaliate."

The floor opened up for comments. Several people agreed. Some had other ideas.

A big yarkora man shouted. "This is not a secret we can just go blabbing about in the streets! We must protect the integrity of the rebellion here on D'Qar in hopes of reuniting the rest of the rebels!"

A round of applause is heard.

Luke stood completely still, his face turning slightly red. If it was not for his miss on the death star, the rebellion might of already won the war. Instead they were all in uproar on what to do, and no one had a cohesive plan to fix anything.

Mon Mothma continued. "If we send a small group of rebels on a secret mission to the capitol building, we can unite more people in D'Qar to help us!"

A snivvian woman stepped forward. "I think she is right! Without intervention we will continue to let the Empire take over our planets and we will do nothing but lose traction in the war."

Mon Mothma raised her voice. "This battle is full of blood shed. We lost almost everyone that day. I lost family as well as many of you. This is our one true chance to get at least a sliver of revenge on the Empire."

Luke stepped forward. "I will go."

A few people in the audience gasped. Whispers of Luke's name rang out from all around the assembly room.

Mon Mothma looked surprised as well. "If you go, there is no guarantee you will come out unscratched."

Luke looked around at the audience. Hundreds of men and women of every race and color from around the galaxy were looking at him. "For everything I have done. For all I have failed to do. I am willing to sacrifice my life for the good of the Rebellion!"

The crowd cheered.

Mon Mothma smiled at him. "This time, you will get your revenge."

Etheler Colechan stood in a small room with windows surrounding him. His first diplomatic mission as a lieutenant was definitely not what he expected. It involved him essentially standing around and waiting for Shulo to finish "negotiating" with different politicians. This mainly meant him blackmailing them into joining the Empire.

That all changed about a week into the mission.

Etheler woke up abruptly from a deep sleep. Shulo was standing in the doorway, fully dressed and ready to go.

"Lets go, Colechan." Shulo said loudly. He stepped out of the chamber and walked away.

Etheler stood up and picked at his hair. He was not as young as he used to be and he looked completely different to his cadet self. He put on his suit and walked out of the chamber following Shulo down the hallway.

It had been almost two years since his beginning at the Royal Imperial Academy. He and several other of the former cadets were the only ones who had progressed. Etheler had progressed the furthest. His combat skills were the best in the academy and his tactical strategies outbeat almost every person in the academy.

Shulo knew this all too well. He had been at his side since the beginning. He watched Etheler grow into a great lieutenant, and he knew eventually he would take over his own place as an Admiral of his own ship.

Etheler and Admiral Shulo's last day on D'Qar had arrived, but it was the most important. They were meeting with the governors to discuss the final step to unite D'Qar with the Empire. This was Etheler's true test to becoming lieutenant commander status and leaving the academy to join the ranks of Shulo's star destroyer, the _Genesis_.

The two of them walked into a large meeting hall with several governors and senators from the planet. Etheler and Shulo were accompanied by four stormtroopers. The stormtroopers stood outside and waited while Etheler and Shulo walked inside taking their seats in the front of the room.

A big man rested in a high chair in the middle of the room. He looked up at the imperials and closed his eyes. "Let the meeting begin." He let out an audible sigh.

To his right sat a middle aged man in a large suit, and to his left sat Luke Skywalker. Luke was wearing a long cloak and had his hair in a style resembling many of the men in the room. He blended in nicely considering none of the Empire could ever remember what he looked like.

"Okay, so Admiral Shulo of the _Genesis_ , you come as a diplomat from the Empire in hopes of uniting our worlds together, is that correct?"

"Yes, that is correct." Shulo said very professionally. Etheler was impressed. This was no easy task.

"Yes, yes. I see many of our government has met with you in the past week discussing military power and resource trading. This is not the main reason you want our alliance, however, isn't that right?"

Shulo kicked Etheler to get him to talk. Etheler spoke calmly, but loud and clear. "The Empire is not what you think. We do not go around taking planets by force, we want peace and prosperity and equality for all of our allies. We think that D'Qar is a great world that has much possibility. We just need your approval to let us tap into that potential."

The man looked surprised at the boy. "Who are you, boy?"

"Etheler Colechan, lieutenant of the Imperial Navy."

Luke looked at the lieutenant and was pleasantly surprised. Seeing a different race than human in the Empire was rare. He must be valuable to them.

"Well, lieutenant. You have our attention. I call Don Scoo to speak."

Luke stood up and looked at the imperials. "What do you plan to offer to D'Qar?"

Shulo spoke this time. "Protection from the rebellion and peace."

"Peace?" Said Luke this time in a questioning voice.

Shulo looked at him intensely. "Yes... Peace."

Luke sat down as the next representative stood from his chair. Stage one of the plan was complete. Speak to the Imperials and find their motive. Next was to set off stage two. He put his hand out on the chair's arm and tapped four times. A man in the crowd nodded his head and walked out of the room quietly.

Not until fifteen minutes later did anything change. At least, nothing changed inside of the assembly room. Outside, however, the four stormtroopers were killed silently by rebel assassins who were waiting patiently the whole time.

"Luke, the troopers are dead." The voice said into Luke's ear softly.

Luke was happy. The plan was going well so far. Stage three was the hard part. Convincing the governors to vote against the Imperial alliance.

Luke stood up once more. "Is it true that the Empire blew up a planet of innocent people?"

Etheler spoke next. "That is true, but it was for the greater good. A few lives is better than a few thousand, correct?"

Luke looked at him angrily. "A few billion innocent lives and that doesn't include Alderaan."

Shulo spoke next. "How is this relevant?"

Luke looked at him. "We do not want an army of men who are blood thirsty killers walking down our streets who promise us protection! Protection from what? The only protection we need is against the Empire!"

Several of the governors stood in agreement and shouted their approval.

Etheler looked at Shulo. "This is not good." He whispered softly.

Shulo did not answer him. Instead he stood up and addressed them. "If you will not accept our offer, we will take the planet by force."

"Enter now." Luke said into his ear piece.

Four rebel troops opened up the door and aimed their blasters at the two Imperials.

Luke stood up and raised a fist into the air. "You will not take a peaceful planet and turn it corrupt like you have with every other planet you have placed a hand on. No amount of blackmail will let you take command of this government."

Etheler looked completely confused. "Where is our stormtroopers!"

One of the rebels behind grunted. "Dead."

Etheler looked scared now. He had never imagined the rebels would be this bold. Shulo stood up now.

He spoke. "I have command of over one thousand troopers. They are ready to attack at any time. If you wish, I will call them in. Let us both leave in peace, or there will be consequences."

Luke spoke loud and clear this time. "Unlike the Empire, we will let you go unharmed, but let this be a lesson to you. The spark is very much still alive Admiral Shulo. You can tell your precious emperor that."

Shulo and Etheler bolted out of the room down the hall and back into their room. Both of them grabbed their things and bolted to the hangar bay where they left in an instant.


	8. Chapter 8

The bridge of the _Genesis_ was far colder than usual. Admiral Shulo stood staring out across the stars. His brain wandered as it had been doing so since they had fled D'Qar. The door to the bridge opened slowly as two mouse droids rolled inside. Behind them came Etheler. He approached slowly as to not disturb Shulo.

Shulo remained staring off at the stars but spoke quietly as Etheler approached. "There is an immense amount of stars, isn't there."

"Yes, sir." Etheler said in a confused tone.

"I wish I was one of those stars." Shulo said softly.

"Are you okay, sir?" Etheler said, seriously concerned.

"Of course, of course. I am just still baffled by the Rebellions boldness. We must take action against their crimes." He turned around as if he regained himself from some sort of trance. "Take us to Coruscant."

"Coruscant? Why are we going there?" Etheler asked from behind.

Shulo looked back slowly. "We are going to get permission to destroy D'Qar."

* * *

D'Qar was a whirlwind of activity. The planet was under control of the Rebellion. Luke knew this was huge step in the right direction since the death star. Most of the galaxy had heard the news. The Imperials had finally lost a planet. Luke knew they wouldn't stop until they got it back.

Or worse, _destroyed_ it.

He did not want to think about that, however. For now, it was a time of peace on D'Qar for at least a few days. The government had been waiting for peace for too long, and finally with the help of the rebels, they had found it. They pledged that they would assist in any way they needed in the war.

Luke was proud of what he had done. It was a simple victory for the Rebellion, but a big victory for Luke's mental state. His actions could never fix what happened at the death star, but they could at least fix parts of him.

"Master Skywalker?" Omacar said as he entered Luke's room.

"Yes Omacar?" Luke said from his bed.

"Mon Mothma said she has something for you."

Luke stood up and walked with Omacar again, going through the same conversation about Omacar and his training.

"... And maybe tomorrow I could learn some of those force tricks!"

"Omacar." Luke stopped and put his hands on Omacar's shoulders. "There is evil in this world that even I am not prepared for. You will learn everything I know in time, but you must let me learn what there is to teach first."

Omacar apologized and they moved onwards.

"We will continue this conversation another time." Luke said as he entered Mon Mothma's living quarters.

"Luke! Welcome, welcome, please sit down." Mon Mothma said as Luke approached.

He sat down. "How is the project going?"

"So far over fifty of our rebel allies in over ten different systems have answered our message and are willing to support us with their ships in times of need. The rebellion is becoming a real force all thanks to you of course."

Luke's face went red. "Well, it was not too hard." He tried to sound modest but he could not help but feel pride for finally completing a mission.

"Be that as it may, this win for us is the biggest advantage we have ever had in this war. The Imperials are surely figuring out a way to drive us out of D'Qar as we speak, but for now we have security."

"I fear that the Empire will launch an attack on this planet if we become to much of a threat." Luke said suddenly.

Mon Mothma studied him for a second and said. "I have confidence that we will be ready. Most importantly, I have confidence in you."

Luke's look of confusion was obvious. "Thank you. It's been awhile since anyone has said that."

Mon Mothma gave him one last look before speaking once more. "I want you to lead our military if that time comes."

Luke felt the pride rise again as she spoke these words. Choosing someone to lead your military is an important task. "I would be honored, mam."

She held out her hand to shake Luke's. "I am honored too, commander."


	9. Chapter 9

The sound could be heard from anywhere, any time, or any place. The unmistakable sound of a robotic respiratory system on a never ending loop pierced the brisk air. Long drawn out footsteps approached the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. Sure-footed onlookers all around suddenly stopped as the man approached the large steps ahead.

The air felt _colder_ now.

Several whispers were heard all around the plaza. Many people kept their eyes averted from the man as to shield them. A cough from the dark suited man emitted from the helmet upon his head. He was strolling up the steps now, not appearing to take any notice to the crowd growing near him. Ships above the crowd kept moving at their usual pace, but it seemed as if their sound was quiet compared to the man's breaths.

Darth Vader made it to the top of the steps and made his way into the Palace. The once Jedi temple, turned Imperial royal citadel, was home to thousands of high ranking officials and training facilities.

As well as Emperor Palpatine.

Darth Vader walked past several men and women, ignoring their comments, and walked straight towards his master's throne room. Emperor Palpatine had two throne rooms located in the palace. Darth Vader was on his way to the most private of the two located in the highest tower.

"Darth Vader." Palpatine's husky voice rang out from his high chair. "I have been expecting you."

Darth Vader walked forward. "Yes, my master."

"As you may know, there is a disturbance in the Ileenium system. Luke Skywalker leads the Rebels in their military effort on D'Qar."

Darth Vader stood quite still, but underneath his dark suit, he winced at the name. "Skywalker?"

"Yes, Skywalker. They have taken quite a liking to the young Jedi. I am sure you feel his power rising as well as I do."

"I felt it, but he is no match for us."

"Perhaps that is changing. His skills have improved dramatically since his return to the Rebellion. You may underestimate his connection to the force." Palpatine coughed slightly.

Vader stood very still, but his mind fixed on the boy. "I will deal with him when the time comes."

"Good. Do not let your feelings for the boy cloud your decisions when time arrives, Lord Vader."

"I have no feelings for the boy but hatred. He will either join us, or die at my hand." Vader said defensively.

"I have a mission for you." He let out a hoarse cough before continuing. "You will lead the _Genesis_ alongside Admiral Shulo in an attempt to take D'Qar from the Rebel's control"

"Yes, my master." Vader turned around as if to make his exit but Palpatine spoke once more.

"By now you must know the truth of Skywalker. The young Jedi must not be taken lightly"

Vader clenched one of his fists.

* * *

A quick slash, a clang, and then nothing. Luke flips around and deflects two bolts back at the oncoming stormtroopers.

"Omacar! Take cover!" Luke yells over the sound of blaster fire all around him. He looks up and sees it.

The Death Star.

In all its glory, it blocks out part of the sun's light. Luke quickly rushes towards the stormtroopers and slashes them both down. "I must get to the hangar bay!"

He keeps running. The path to the hangar bay seemed so far away.

Luke jolted awake. He was sweating and panting on his bed inside the rebel base on D'Qar.

"Just a dream." He told himself slowly, trying to calm himself.

"A dream?" A familiar voice said from the corner of the room. "Or a warning?"

"Ben, where have you been all this time?" Luke said, still trying to calm himself down.

"I have always been here Luke. I've just been observing you.

"The dream… It was so real to me. The death star was here and I was so close to stopping them, but I woke up just as the death star fired. I think it was just a nightmare, but I don't know anymore."

"Could be fear. I sense a great feeling of stress in you. The weight of commander puts a heavy toll on you i'm sure."

Luke lets out a quick sigh before saying, "I have never had the chance to do so much good for the rebellion until now, but I also could ruin everything once again. I feel guilt still for the loss of all of the lives on Yavin. I don't want to lose anymore at my hand."

"Yes, Luke, I understand your fear of letting down the rebellion, but you must realize that they all have forgiven you. They all believe in you. You have control of your destiny. This is your time to show the Empire what you are capable of."

"And what of the Jedi?"

"The time will come when you will choose whether you want to continue the Jedi way, or if you want to choose a new path. It is all up to you."

Luke looks down at his bedside table and sees the old books that he had found in Obi-Wan's old shack on Tatooine. He picks one up and brushes the dust off the cover. "And what if I don't continue the Jedi way?"

"Then I trust you will find a new one!" His last word was said just as he faded away again.

Luke looked down at the book. He had not opened any of them in many months. He had little to no time at all to read their contents, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure what he would find inside of them.

Luke began to read. Every page was full of knowledge he had never seen. Such knowledge he knew would be essential to the next step in his training.

Luke stood up with the book in one hand, nothing in the other, and concentrated. He let his mind wander. Suddenly the book lifted from his hand. All light in the room disappeared for a moment and came back again. The only thing missing from the room was Luke.

All at once, his body became visible again. He looked down at the book and read aloud.

"Highly sensitive users of the force can perform an act of camouflage rendering them completely invisible to the naked eye. This trick was invented during the early days of the Great Sith War and was rarely seen due to its high strain on the user."

Luke felt very weak after using the technique, but he did pull it off.

 _Maybe he was stronger than he thought._

* * *

 _-Authors note : Thank you for 1000 views! I know my writing is slowly getting better, but I promise I have a lot of fun in store for the ending of this book and for the next two books!_


	10. Chapter 10

"There is nothing in this world that I hate more than you."

Vader sat in his high chair deep inside his castle on Mustafar. His breathing carried all around the room vibrating off the walls and echoing down the corridors. The torches lit around the room seemed dim compared to the light in Vader's eyes. His helmet was lying on the floor to his right, for he had thrown it there in his frustration.

He was staring into a glass pane. One might say it was a mirror, but for Vader, it was a reflection of what he wanted to see and what he didn't.

"Luke Skywalker." His strident voice rang out. The mirror showed the boy standing alone on the sand planet of Tatooine. Luke was barely into his child years, but he resembled so much of what Vader once was.

Then the image shifted to Obi-Wan.

Vader often pondered why he never sensed Obi-Wan being alive on Tatooine. This mirror reflected his deepest regrets, and one of them was not ending Obi-Wan when he had the chance. He clenched his fist tightly at the sight of his old master.

Suddenly the door to the hall sprung open and Admiral Shulo came rushing in. "Lord Vader. The mission to D'Qar is commencing shortly. I was sent to make sure you were still attending."

Vader raised a hand and force pulled his helmet to his palm, placing it calmly on his head. The chair turned around slowly and he stared at Shulo. "Yes, Admiral, and this time we shall not be unsuccessful. Set course for D'Qar, I shall arrive on the _Genesis_ shortly."

Shulo nodded his head and turned around quickly walking down the corridor to his transport ship.

Vader stood from his chair and made his way into the hangar bay on the other side of the castle. "Luke Skywalker will fall." He clenched his fist.

"Luke, is something troubling you."

Luke stood on the balcony of his living quarters staring out at the vast land the rebellion had occupied. It grew considerably considering how little time they had been there. From buildings to supply depots, the city was blooming in a new government. Luke was proud, but pride came with worry. All of these thoughts clouded his mind for days on end, but he wasn't ready to talk about it.

"No, Kyla. Just thinking."

Kyla, who was a new political leader in the D'Qar government, was a new friend to Luke. They met because of their affiliation with the Rebellion, and there was definitely a connection between them.

"You look worried Luke. You're going to have to talk about it sooner or later." Kyla said, yet she knew he would not budge.

"I'm fine. You should go to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day."

"Big day? I have basically already won every poll. No one will take my spot on the senate, you know that."

"You never know what Tamont guy might have up his sleeve!" He chuckled.

She looked into his eyes deeply wanting to tell him how she felt, but she turned and said, "Goodnight Luke." And she left without another word.

Luke shut the door behind her and sat down in his favorite chair. Next to it was a table with several books stacked high on it. He took one of them and opened it. His daily readings of the Jedi books had become almost a hobby. He had learned several different tips and tricks, but he was nowhere near being able to perform them.

He recently took on the task of completing the 10,000 word archive of the _White Jedi_ which was highly fascinating to him. It was a completely different religion compared to the Jedi way which he was accustomed to. It spoke of binding Sith and Jedi together and creating a "balance" which Luke never truly believed in. Regardless of that, he still enjoyed it.

Tonight, however, he came across a certain section that caught his eye.

"The binding of the force realm and the real world. A White Jedi in dire need of contacting the force realm can do so, but it is highly dangerous. The amount of power exerted into doing this would nearly kill the White Jedi if not done carefully. It is rarely used, but has been used in the past to contact long lost masters for advice during times of hardship."

Luke felt his heart sink. "Obi-Wan."

Suddenly, Luke was thrusted out of his chair. The entire building shook as an imperial class bomber shot bombs down into the city. Luke force grabbed his lightsaber into his hand and ran out onto the balcony. The city was in complete chaos.

Hundreds of people ran around screaming. Ships were on fire and buildings were collapsing. Luke turned around and saw the door open.

"Sir! Mon Mothma has requested you immediately." The soldier said while catching his breath.

Luke sprinted past the soldier down the hall where he ran out into the street. He looked down the road to the capitol building. He ran as fast as he could straight into the building. "Mon Mothma!" He shouted.

She stood around a makeshift war table. Holograms of different sectors around D'Qar were shown. "Each sector was bombed at around the same time by one ship. This is most likely a warning. We must prepare our citizens to evacuate to safe zones. Luke, I need you to command Black Squadron as we prepare defensive positions."

"What is going on!" A pilot shouted as he ran into the room.

Mon Mothma looked around at all of them and said allowed, "We have lost too many men and women to this horrid Empire. We must defend D'Qar and all that live upon it."

The entire room shouted in unison,

"For the rebellion!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Take aim on their deflector shields. Increase forward velocity cannons to maximum power and bring us around the outside of their hull."

Etheler Colechan shouted commands at his crew. He was assigned to the Siren and he couldn't be more happy about it. The Siren was a small imperial class cruiser equipped with enough firepower to destroy an enemy frigate.

At his control, he had already destroyed four.

"15 seconds until command gets back with more orders, sir." A crewman said from his seat in the control bay.

"Good. Keep firing at that ship and we will move onto our orders as soon as possible."

Etheler stood with his arms crossed behind his back and watched the ship in front of him blow into a thousand pieces.

D'Qar stood no chance. Their blockade was nothing compared to the Imperials ships.

"Sir, our orders are to regroup with Admiral Shulo and continue the assault."

"Turn the ship around and regroup." Etheler said.

* * *

"Etheler! It's truly great to see you." Shulo said semi sarcastically as he faked a grin. "I take it your time as captain of the Siren was a good experience? The crew said you did fabulous! I could hardly believe it."

Etheler faked a grin, "Yes, I think it went as planned."

"Good! We have work to do." Shulo pulled up a hologram map of the enemy fleet ahead of them. "We have received word of their fleet compositions from spies within their ranks. We are up against a small force with good leadership, and Lord Vader has advised us not to take them lightly."

Etheler looked puzzled. "Vader will be joining us?"

"Yes, he will. Vader is currently located on this ship-"

Then suddenly the doors to the bridge opened and the very man himself stepped forward. "Admiral Shulo, it is a pleasure." Vader said briskly as he approached.

Admiral Shulo nodded his head. "The pleasure is all mine, Lord Vader."

Etheler gulped.

"What is the estimated time until we are in range, Admiral." Vader said once he reached the window overlooking the space ahead of them.

"35 minutes. I believe they-" Shulo was cut off by the sound of explosions from the rear.

Vader clenched a fist. "Skywalker."

* * *

"Good shot!" Luke said as he flipped a switch and reverted shields to the front. "Brace for impact, their cannons are online!"

Luke, along with several other X-Wing pilots, came in hot off a stealth transport ship. Each ship was locked tightly in V formation and Luke was at the head of it.

"Fire torpedos at max velocity towards the hangar bay!" Luke shouted over the comms. In an instant the ships hangar bay was destroyed along with several Tie fighters that were trying to launch. "Great firing boys."

Suddenly, a small voice appeared in Luke's head. "Skywalker."

Luke clenched his fist tighter along the joystick.

Vader.

Suddenly from all sides the V formation was hit by Tie fighters. Reinforcements had arrived from the flank.

Luke shouted over the comms. "Bank right! Retreat back to the transport ship!"

Shouts from several men were heard as they were hit by plasma rays. Luke hit the accelerator and shot straight towards the transport ship, but then he hesitated, and whipped his X-Wing around at full speed.

"I know R2. This is crazy, but we have to try." He hit the accelerator once more and shot right towards the Imperial ship. "Steady!" He shouted to R2, who was losing it in his cockpit. "Release all power from the engines and force it into the front shields!" The X-Wing flew straight into the imperial hangar bay.

Luke opened his eyes to inspect the damage. The entire X-Wing was in critical damage, but he was fine, so he didn't pay attention. The hangar bay was on fire, but it was able to be walked through. He kicked open glass protecting him from the outside and force pushed the smoke away.

"Stay here R2."

I wish I could stay too.

But he was compelled to confront Vader. He unleashed the blue plasma from his lightsaber and cut a large hole in the hangar bay door. Once in the hallway, several stormtroopers were stationed in attack position, and each one opened fire.

Luke deflected the shots with ease and ran down the hall at them. He did a quick slash at one of them cutting right through his breastplate and force pushed another up against the wall knocking him completely out of consciousness. He kept searching, searching through the force, trying to find Vader.

Then suddenly, he stopped in the middle of a long hallway, lit only by the surrounding red emergency flashers. "Vader."

Vader stood behind Luke at the end of the hall, yet his breathing could be heard from anywhere. Luke whipped around and force pushed a body at him. Vader easily flicked his hand pushing the body out of the sky. He began walking towards Luke slowly and steadily.

"What would your master think of you now Skywalker. Giving into your hatred is exactly what he wanted you to control." With these words he put a hand on his lightsaber and ignited it.

"He would be proud of everything I have become." Luke clasped both hands around his lightsaber tighter.

"Much like your master, you continue to show your arrogance."

Luke grunted and slashed down hard on Vader, but he deflected it easily. Vader force pushed Luke backwards onto the ground. "Fool. You come to my ship to fight me, yet your own ignorance will be your demise." His red blade swung down hard, but Luke blocked it just in time.

Luke kicked Vader's leg and swung around standing straight up. He thrusts all his weight into his next blow stabbing vader on the arm knocking off a part of his suit.

Vader screamed, "Enough!" and force pushed Luke all the way down the hallway. Luke crashed into the wall and slid down it, his lightsaber falling with him, as his vision became increasingly darker. "You are nothing, Skywalker! Just like your master, you are completely useless!"

Luke just stared at him for a second and suddenly remembered his master plan. A grin suddenly sprouted on his face. He touched both hands on the plated floor and reached out with all his might. He shook the entire floor and sent Vader flying into the opposite wall. He stood quickly and sprinted towards vader, force pulling his lightsaber to him as he went. He jumped into the sky in a quick acrobatic motion, stabbing straight down into Vader's chest.

But the blade would not go in. Vader had his hand clenched around the plasma, and from the palm of his hand illuminated a blinding blue glow. He raised his other hand and spit lightning from his fingertips, causing Luke to deflect it. He stood up, still blasting lightning from his hand, as he grabbed his lightsaber from the floor.

"How is this possible?" Luke said under his breath, still trying with all of his might to deflect the radiant blue electricity. He then quickly slashed at Vader and dashed away.

When he reached the hangar bay, R2 had already started the engines. "Good thinking R2. Let's go home." The X-Wing jolted forward out of the flames and into the dark reaches of space once more.


	12. Chapter 12

Six trees surrounded a circular painting sketched deep into the temple floor on D'Qar. In the center sat Luke, and off to his side sat Omacar. The two were deep in meditation. Luke's thoughts wavered from Vader to his inner struggle to remain at peace. Omacar was only focused on Luke.

Birds chirped now. The peaceful sounds of nature were only interrupted by the sound of frantic preparations being done to evacuate the planet. The Empire was closing in, and the Rebellion was out numbered three to one. The battle was swift, and due to the Empire's impeccable fleet, the Rebels were once again on the run.

Luke raised his hand now lifting a rock with his mind. He levitated it in mid air, watching it twirl around.

 _He had failed them again._

He stood from his spot and looked at Omacar. "Are you ready to go?" He asked quietly.

Omacar stood as well and said, "Yes, but I fear you are not?"

Luke pondered the question. In truth, he was not ready to leave D'Qar. He found it almost like a home, or at least as close to home as he could come by. He wanted so badly to be safe from the war, but he could not run away from it now. "Let's go." Luke finally said peacefully to Omacar. They both left the clearing of the temple for the last time.

The rebel base was in a frantic rush to load their transport ships. Above the planet's atmosphere was several star destroyers that were nearly past the small blockade.

"Luke, are you sure you want to leave on your own?" Mon Mothma said as Luke entered his X-Wing.

"I think it's time to be on my own for awhile." He said as he put on his helmet. "Me and R2 haven't begun to see the galaxy, and don't worry. We will be back."

"I have no worries." She said confidently. "The coordinates of our next rendezvous point are within your droid. Stay safe." She said as she turned for the last transport ship.

Luke looked at all of the ships taking off into the unknown. He truly was apart of something bigger than just a war.

 _He was apart of a revolution._

* * *

"Admiral, we are coming up on the last cruiser. It's shields are down and its crew is evacuating. Shall we engage?"

Shulo looked out at the ship. "Destroy those escape pods." He grinned slightly as he gave the command.

The bridge officer nodded and gave the order. As he did so all fourteen of their ships blaster cannons fired and knocked all of the escape pods out of the sky.

Shulo gave one last nod and turned walking off the bridge towards Vader's quarters. "Lord Vader, the last of the Rebel fleet has been destroyed. Any last minute orders?"

Vader breathed slowly from his chair and looked up at Shulo. "Good. Any survivors?"

"No, sir."

Vader stood from his chair and brought up a hologram of D'Qar. "The last of the Rebel's ground forces will be evacuating shortly, if not already. I would like for you to track them if you can, but specifically pay attention to a single X-Wing fighter with hyperdrive systems."

"Luke Skywalker's X-Wing, I presume?" Shulo questioned.

"Yes, Skywalker and I have business to attend to. I will be leaving to Coruscant and I expect to hear from you every 12 hours. Until we meet again, Admiral Shulo."

Vader stepped out of the room leaving Shulo alone.


	13. Chapter 13

Within two days of the Rebels retreat from D'Qar, the Empire had occupied the planet fully. Etheler Colechan led the ground attack, while Admiral Shulo stayed in the air. The Empire's victory instilled great panic among rebel cells across the galaxy. During the following year the galaxy was being torn into two.

The rebels had fled to wild space to continue their secretive operations. Mon Mothma had acquired the coordinates of the forest planet of Solara and made it their new rebel base. The planet was full of lush vegetation and creatures unknown to the galaxy. Most of these new creatures and plants were harmless so far. Luke had left on his own with R2.

The rebels slowly began the rebuilding process of their fleet. They began going on search missions to find planets with rebel cells to assist them. So far, four of the planets they searched provided almost one thousand new troops and several ships for their cause.

Due to the battle of D'Qar, many planets across the galaxy were beginning to turn for the worse. The empire kept rising in power, and Palpatine only became more and more twisted. With each passing day changes were made on every planet. With each passing hour, the Empire increased its power.

"The Empire needs you! Join your nearest Imperial academy now!"

The bartender spit in disgust at the screen. "The amount of times I have seen that. Might as well sign up myself just to shut them up!" The people around the bar gave out several chuckles.

A man in a black cloak raised a hand to signal to the bartender that he was ready to get a drink. "Give me some Vorkin Swig."

"Ay, coming right up." He said as he grabbed out a glass with one of his eight arms.

The cloaked man glanced up at the screen. It was playing some sort of long propaganda speel about how the "Rebellion is a plot to destroy life as we know it!"

 _How ironic. The Empire were the ones with a death star afterall._

"Here ya go stranger." The bartender said as he slapped down the glass in front of the hooded man.

"Thanks." He said as he flicked a credit into one of the bartenders hands. He was interested in the place. Even a place full of rag tag smugglers and pirates seemed to be in agreement that the Empire was up to no good. Yet, none of them did anything about it.

Most people were terrified of the Empire's power. The death star did enough damage, and most of them knew that if anyone tried anything, their planet could be next on the Empires hit list.

Suddenly, a woman sat down next to him at the bar. "It's good to see you again, Luke."

Luke Skywalker took off his hood and looked at the woman who had sat down next to him. "Same to you, Kyla." He said with a genuine grin. "It's been some time. How is the new base coming along?"

"As good as it can be." She said. "And how has your journey of the galaxy been?"

"It has been eye opening to say the least." He held his tongue about his experiences, for those conversations would come at another time. "When I got your message, I figured it was important."

"Mon Mothma informed me that your presence is needed on Solara. She was not very specific in why, but I have a feeling it is urgent."

He took a sip of his drink, the last year making his tolerance for alcohol rise significantly. He sat down the glass and said, "Yes, I figured. I have been gone for too long. It is about time I came back."

She smiled slightly. "Yes, for old times sake. Anything new happen while you were gone?"

Hundreds of memories flashed through his head. He wanted to tell her all about his journey, all about his new found power, and how he missed her. He kept quiet. "Many things, but we will have time to talk about it another time. We should leave here. It's about a 6 day hyperspace trip from here to Solara."

"Off we go then!" She said as she stood up.

* * *

The two of them sat in the cockpit of the _Comet_ which was one of the fastest ships in the rebellion. Even so, the hyperspace lane around Imperial territory was slow, which gave Luke and Kyra the chance to make up for lost time. They sat and chatted like when they were young. Their obvious chemistry was there still, and Luke felt a little less stressed than he was used to.

It had only been a year, but they both seemed so much older. Both of their faces aged considerably, and due to the current circumstances, it was expected. They both spoke a little wiser and chose their words more carefully. Both of them had lost so much and gained so little, yet, being together in the cockpit made all of it feel a little less painful.

"That's basically where we are at now." She said as she finished telling Luke about Solara. Luke was impressed. "You look surprised!" She said while chuckling.

"In truth, I am indeed surprised. The choice of planet must be playing a big role in the expansion."

"The Empire has no idea. Even if they did, they wouldn't dare send ships into wild space. Not even the most reckless commander would bring a fleet into unknown territory and risk thousands of men."

"I suppose that's true, but the Emperor is known for being reckless." He said remembering the stories Yoda had told him.

"Let's hope he isn't as reckless as he once was. Enough of the rebellion, what about you?"

He looked into her pale blue eyes and let out a sigh. "Much has happened. It depends on what you wish to know I guess."

She scanned his face and saw the obvious pain in his expression. She knew he wasn't ready to talk about it, so she stopped herself from asking any questions. "I don't wish to intrude on your thoughts, Luke. If you aren't ready to talk about it, then don't stress."

One of the many things he missed about her was her understanding of him. "I will be ready to tell the tales one day. How far are we from Solara."

"We still have four days of travel time. You should rest some more. Once we arrive, you will most likely have a lot on your plate."

He smiled. "Just like old times." He stood up and made his way to the door, when he suddenly turned. He wanted to say something about how much she meant to him, but he didn't.

She turned her head and looked at him as if she wanted to say something too. "I missed you, Luke."

He looked deep into her eyes and said softly, "I missed you too."

* * *

Luke woke abruptly in the middle of the night. He raised a hand and light spewed from it. He looked around.

 _Nothing. Just a dream._

He let his hand fall lazily to his side. He let his head fall into his pillow. He dreamed a lot these days. Mostly nightmares, truly, but he tried to keep them to himself. Kyla came running into the room suddenly.

"Are you okay?" She said, obviously hearing him wake from the cockpit.

"It was a nightmare." He said, trying to reassure himself that it wasn't a vision.

"Oh yes, the famous Skywalker nightmares!" She said as she sat at the foot of his bed. "How much I missed them."

"I can assure you I have not enjoyed them." He said, forcing a smile.

She looked into his blue eyes, wondering what he had been through. He seemed so much wiser now. "What was it about?"

He looked at her for a long time. He trusted her, but to what extent? "It was about Vader."

She felt the usual chills go down her spine. Even the name scared her. "I see."

He sensed her fear and decided to spare the details. "How come you're awake?"

"I am just checking the navigation systems to make sure we are still on course. Lucky for you, we are only a few hours away."

He smiled and sat up in his bed. "I suppose we should prepare ourselves, ey?"

She smiled and stood up slightly when Luke pulled her back. "What's wrong?" She said.

"Nothing, I just want to look at you."

Then she leaned in and kissed him for the first time in a year.


	14. Chapter 14

"Just a bit more…" Omacar said, seemingly struggling at doing something. "And… Got it!" He shouted finally. He had been prying open a container that he had found in the forest days prior. "Now what do we have here." He lifted open the lid to find the contents of the small wooden box.

Inside was a triangular prism of some sort with markings that he had never personally seen before. Beside it was three small gems, each a different color, but with the same set of markings as the prism. He picked one up and winced as it burned the palm of his hand.

"Omacar. Do you need my assistance?" A protocol droid said from a few feet behind him.

"No C-7, I'm fine. Can you take this?" Omacar closed the box and handed it to C-7. "I need you to take it to my room and secure it somewhere. I need to get going."

"As you wish." The droid said as he turned and walked away.

Omacar stood up from his resting spot in the middle of the clearing. He had been on Solar for the last year with the rest of the rebellion. Throughout all of it, Luke Skywalker had not been there, and he was beginning to be frustrated. He wished more than anything to begin his Jedi training, yet deep in his gut, he felt that Luke would never get around to it.

Upon arriving at the rebel base, he felt something strange. Recently he had begun to sense things again. Luke taught him about the basics of it, but Omacar had always knew what it meant. In his past, when he felt the strange tingles go down the back of his spine, something bad was going to happen. He looked up and down the pathway but found nothing out of the ordinary. That's when he felt the screams of millions of voices in his head from a distant planet as the Death Star had surely just fired.

* * *

Kyla was sitting in the cockpit alone reading the navigation charts and checking up on the energy levels, when Luke walked in. She glanced up at him and smiled. "Were about to come out of hyperspace. You look like you've seen a ghost. Is something wrong?"

Luke sat down slowly. He felt the screams like he had felt them all that time ago in his X-Wing above Yavin 4. "The Death Star has destroyed another planet." He said with a grim expression on his face.

She looked at him with an almost confused look. "That can't be possible. Why would they do that at a time like this? The galaxy hates them enough."

"That's exactly it. They continue to assert their dominance because they know no one will test them." He let out a long sigh.

"Then I suppose it's a good time to return to Solara."

They dropped out of hyperspace and gazed upon the beautiful green planet. Three rebel ships were approaching. A red light appeared on the dash of the _Comet_ and Kyla clicked it.

"This is escort lead 103. Please submit clearance papers."

Kyla sent them through as the escort team flew around guiding them towards their landing point. She was glad to be back, but if Luke was right, they were about to be thrusted right back into the center of the war.

* * *

Omacar awoke right where he passed out. All he remembered was the distant memory of people screaming in fear and their final calls for help. A single tear fell down his cheek as he began to stand. In the distance he heard frantic running and he saw ships being loaded near the end of the pathway. He sprinted now trying to return to the base as soon as he could.

"That's why we must do something!" Admiral Ackbar shouted at Mon Mothma.

"I know. We are all in distress about this, but acting without planning can critically wound us more than anything. I know planets are suffering, but we can not forget the task at hand."

"The task at hand? What 'task at hand' because last I heard our secondary fleet went up in flames above Kashyyyk, did it not?" A large man said from Mon Mothma's right.

"Yes, this is true, but it is not relevant-"

"This is the most relevant news we have had in a year! We are losing men because of our own unwillingness to engage the heart of the Empire itself, The Death Star." Admiral Ackbar shouted silencing the room.

The whole room was quiet now. Omacar stood at the entrance of the meeting room seemingly shaking at the words.

After a few moments Mon Mothma spoke again. "If you recall the last time we engaged their death machine, we lost thousands of good people. They risked their lives for us, and I don't want to lose any more good men and women because of our own recklessness." She stood from her chair and addressed the room. "We will consider our choices and make a definite decision in the coming week. Until then, find what you can of the survivors and shuttle them here. We will give them a home until further notice."

Omacar turned around and stepped out of the meeting room. He was baffled by this. The rebellion was beginning to split down the middle. Conflicting views would only tear them apart even more, and if the Empire continued to grow, the Rebellion would surely fall apart.


	15. Chapter 15

It was noon, but each and every soldier on the sand mound had been awake since three days prior. The imperial onslaught of Dekka IV was never-ending, and the defensive efforts were dwindling. Dekka IV was a wild space planet occupied by spice miners. It had ties with every black market system the rebellion ever had their hands on, and it was the last place that the rebellion could afford to lose.

It was supposedly a tip sent by a rogue spice miner in the mountains, but the rogue wasn't caught in time and the Imperials didn't waste any time with their assault. Three dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers began their advance. Quickly, the air space surrounding the planet was blockaded by a slew of tie fighter squadrons, and the rebel cells had no way of contacting back up before it was too late.

It only took three days to transport over 5,000 stormtroopers all over the planet's surface. Dekka IV is predominantly a sand planet, but its atmosphere is contaminated with toxic substances that kill anyone without protective face masks. At noon during the third day of the invasion, nearly every stormtrooper was withdrawn from the front lines of the battle and sent back to the camp to rest.

"How much longer can the front mines hold?" A soldier no older than fifteen said to the captain of their brigade.

"By the looks of it, I'd say three more days. If we can't contact the rebellion we may have to retreat and give up the planet entirely."

"But you know we can't do that, sir!" The boy said trying to reason with him.

"Either way we lose the planet boy. Stay vigilant. Just because the empire has withdrawn doesn't mean we are immune to surprise assaults.

The boy clicked a button on the side of his visor to lengthen the view range. He surveyed the barren land. It was filled with holes and bodies. It was a nightmare and he hated the sight of it.

"May I go for a bit and find some water, sir?" He asked, trying to get away from the sight of the land beyond.

"Yes, but make it quick."

The boy dropped his rifle and sprinted down the steps of the enclosure. There was a wall entirely made of steel surrounding the entire circumference of the mine. Their brigade was tasked with protecting that particular mine because of its crystals embedded into the several layers of rock.

"Roy! How ya been!" A small old lady said from inside the barracks.

"It's been fine. The battle is only getting worse out there. Captain says we got three days."

"Don't you worry about time. Those bucket heads won't last long out there. Are ya hungry?"

"Starving," Roy said, suddenly realizing just how hungry he actually was.

"Take some of this." She said as she pulled out a bowl and poured a green stew into it. "My secret recipe, that is!"

Roy sipped the stew and was delighted when the liquid went through his body. He found himself feeling energized. "What is in this?"

"It's secret for a reason ya droid brain!" She said, grazing him softly on the head with the spoon. "Get back out there! Your captain needs ya."

Roy gave his thanks and rushed out the door. It was quiet and somewhat peaceful. It was almost like old times. Roy had grown up on the planet with a family of three. His father was a spice miner and was one of the best, but he tragically died in a mining incident when Roy was only eleven.

"Roy, you gotta see this!" Shouted the captain from the wall.

Roy bolted up the steps and clicked in his visor once more. He almost threw up.

"That right there is an AT-AT Walker coming right at us." The captain said, almost too quiet to hear.

"It seems they really want us dead," Roy said trying to remain calm.

"Yes, it does. If the rebellion doesn't send help soon I fear death may be the only outcome."

* * *

Deep beneath the cavern stood the old lady. She was short and had a stubborn look about her. She looked up and down at the walls of the cave and was silent for a long moment. She then paused and looked directly at a small lever on the wall. She flipped it and a massive opening in the rock appeared.

"It has been much longer than one month, Elisa." Said a cold voice from the opening.

"You lack patience. I have come with what you asked." She held out a red crystal. "Does this satisfy you?"

The man dusted off his dark robes and approached at a very slow pace. He took the crystal in his hand and surveyed it. "Ah, yes. You have at long last found the crystal I have been begging for." His voice was harsh, but his happiness was evident. "Where did you find it?"

"On Dathomir of course."

"Of course. Yes! This is exactly what I needed." He turned around slowly and walked back to his chair. He sat down and fixed his eyes on the lady. "You have served me well, Elisa. I will stop the empire from invading this mine, but in return, I expect you will help me escape"  
"That is part of the agreement." She said reluctantly. "Will anyone suspect me of helping you?"

"They will never know." He said with an evil grin on his face. "Leave me be. I will save the mine when they need it the most."

Elisa turned and watched the door close behind her.

"This better not backfire." She said quietly as she left the cave.


	16. Chapter 16

Omacar looked into Luke's eyes for the first time in over a year. The hatred that was living inside him faded slightly. When Luke left all that time ago, he felt betrayed. He decided that Luke had one more chance to train him, or he would figure it out on his own.

Luke felt the great pain fade in him and took his chance to apologize. "I'm sorry for abandoning you. I should have contacted Solara and told them I was okay. You have every right to be upset."

"You do not need to say anything." Omacar looked away. "Have you felt it?"

Luke blinked and nodded his head. "I think we are needed in the conference room."

The two of them walked together down the rocky streets of the rebel encampment. Luke surveyed the buildings and eyed the civilians. He noticed their fear and sensed that some of them were hesitant about something, but he couldn't make it out.

"Omacar. What has happened to these people?"

"Most of them do not know where their loyalties lie. I feel commitment growing smaller every day."

"Are they still supporting our cause?" Luke asked, trying to make sense of what Omacar was suggesting.

"In a way, yes. But I fear their support is dwindling. After all, we are not doing anything to support them, are we?"

The two of them approached a large building made of brick. Out front was a large staircase that went at least thirty feet up to the main entrance. They both walked slowly up the long staircase continuing their talk.

"What more can they ask for?" Luke asked quietly.

"We cut their ration count in half ever since we lost contact with Dekka IV."

"What happened to Dekka IV?" Luke said at the unexpected news.

"The Empire found the location of our spice mine operation," Omacar sighed and continued, "And we fear that they are close to taking over the planet entirely. I think that is why we are needed."

"That would be correct." Mon Mothma said as she opened the front entrance of the towering structure. "It is truly good to see you again, Luke."

Luke smiled and responded, "Same to you. I sensed that you needed us?"

"That I do." She said, ushering them inside. "The last transmission we received from Dekka IV was three days ago. It was some sort of cry for help. The clarity was lost due to the distance," She looked at him solemnly, "I fear they are in grave danger."

The three of them entered a room full of people running from place to place. Paperwork was all over the ground and there were several holograms active. Luke reached out with his mind and felt the presence of Kyla.

"Send the fleet then!" Screamed one very familiar mon calamari. "We can't afford to lose this planet as well as the surrounding systems!"

Above the cries of agreement, Mon Mothma coughed loudly to signal everyone to be quiet. "We have a guest!"

Luke stepped forward. The room was suddenly filled with whispers and several cheers. It had been so long that many had forgotten he had left.

"I find your motivation to help Dekka IV honorable," Mon Mothma continued. "But much like in the past, you know we can't afford to send our entire fleet when we have no idea what we are up against!"

"I agree, but this time we can't sit back and watch them crumble. We need to do something." Admiral Ackbar concluded.

"Then we will send a cruiser full of supplies-"

Mon Mothma was suddenly cut off by Luke. "I will head the mission."

The room fell silent as these words were spoken.

"Alright, then it's settled. Luke will leave with red squadron immediately to escort a supply run. Any objections?"

The room remained quiet except for the distant sound of Omacar slamming the door behind him as he stormed out of the building.

"May the force be with you."


	17. Chapter 17

"Omacar, I can't train you! Not when the entire galaxy needs me, and you know that!"

Omacar continued marching away, but this time doubled his pace.

Luke continued on, trying to keep up. "I am not neglecting you! I am trying to do what's best for everyone, can't you see?"

Omacar stopped and looked directly at Luke. Suddenly, Omacar's voice rang out in such power that it shook the very ground he stood on. "I will find someone else then because clearly you don't have what it takes!"

Luke gripped a fist. "You think that I have a choice? I have to help these people, it's my life!"

Omacar's anger only intensified. "Everyone has a choice. It's clear to me that you've already made yours!"

"Everything I do is to make sure people like you are safe! Don't you understand that?"

Omacar gritted his teeth. "I have sat here for a year waiting for you to fulfill your promise. A year!" His eyes seemed to glow with the anger inside of him, "And the worst part is you won't even tell me what i'm waiting for."

"You are waiting for something that I question you even possess. A Jedi keeps peace and doesn't question the nature of their doing. They are good people, but you? What have you become?"

Omacar screamed at those words. "You are nothing, Skywalker! You are just another idiot who follows their higher power blindly. What good is it to be you when you have absolutely nothing!"

"I have the satisfaction that I am doing good for this galaxy. That's what I have. Don't you want that too?"

"I would rather die than follow you blindly into the nothingness that is your life."

Omacar turned and ran off into the dimly lit forest ahead without saying another word.

* * *

Luke switched on the lights in his living quarters. He dropped his lightsaber on a desk near the window and collapsed onto his bed. He closed his eyes, but every time he did so images of his conversation with Omacar infested his mind. He instead pulled out the books he had become so fond of over the last year.

He flipped through one of them and read about the uncertainty of anger and its effect on the force. It picked at his mind and made him ponder about what happen to Omacar now. All he could do is hope Omacar would come back in the coming days. What was clear was that he could never train Omacar after this . It was far too dangerous and the risk was not worth it.

Suddenly a small knock was heard at the door of his room. He picked up his lightsaber and slowly approached.

"Hello?" A small voice was heard from outside.

"Kyla?" Luke asked quietly. "What are you doing here?" He let her in and quickly shut the door.

"I heard about Omacar and figured I would see if you are okay." Her green eyes locked onto his.

He tried to hide his obvious worry, but he decided it was best to confide in her. "I am troubled. He wasn't himself all day. He seemed clouded. Almost like his mind was completely different from everything I had ever remembered about him."

She gave him a concerned look and said, "Well, knowing him, he will most likely come back to the base eventually."

"I don't know about that." Luke said as he sat down on the bed. "He seems to despise me."

"You left for a long time. I expected he would not be happy about your absence."

Luke laid his head down on a pillow and sighed. "I should have came back sooner. This is my fault."

She sat down at the foot of his bed and said, "This has nothing to do with you. He is the one who was not patient. He must accept that your life is immensely more difficult than his. If he can't do that, then he is unworthy of your training."

"Does anyone know you're here?" Luke asked suddenly, realizing the time of night.

"No." She said quietly as she scooted herself closer to him and put a hand on his face. "I missed you. It's been a stressful day trying to arrange the Dekka IV mission."

He clasped her hand in his and looked into her eyes. "I will be gone for a while. What will you do then?"

She smiled and said, "Miss you more I suppose."

They embraced and made love deep into the night.


	18. Chapter 18

Deep inside the caves of Dekka IV was a twisted, never-ending tunnel system that connected every mineshaft on the planet. On quiet days, the tunnel was used for business-only purposes, but this was anything but a quiet day. There were five entrances to the system itself. Each of these entrances was hidden and protected beneath codes thousands of years ago, but anyone with enough power could cut right through the walls.

"Colechan, do you know what's so elegant about these unexplored planets?"

Etheler looked up from his datapad and stared directly at Shulo, waiting for a response.

"It seems that every coalition that controls them has no idea what power the Empire truly possesses. Today, however, I think the people of Dekka IV deserve to finally see our new friend in action." Admiral Shulo twisted in his chair and pulled up the hologram map of the attack below. "Activate operation Willow at once."

Etheler turned his head and pressed the green activation button on his datapad. At once a loud bang was heard as four dropships launched from the cruiser. Each had a type of mechanical hand attached to a massive drill.

"Send word to the emperor that we have found entrance four into the tunnel system. We have them right where we want them."

* * *

Deep within the mountainous caves stood the mysterious dark hooded figure. He raised a bony hand and raised various components into the air. Slowly, the hilt of a lightsaber was put together piece by piece. It was considered small for a normal lightsaber, but the use was clear. At one end of the hilt was a long metal rod that poked out horizontally. At the other end was the magnetic stabilizing ring which was rusted.

"The last piece." His voice was barely audible, but the excitement still shined through like the lightsaber soon would. With a click, the blade emitter shroud was attached. "Finally."

He placed his pointer finger on the power adjust and pushed forward. A shining red blade appeared before him. He smirked.

"At long last."

He turned it off, turned around, and headed out of the cave.

* * *

"Luke, are you sure you have to go?" Kyla said softly.

Luke rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Dekka IV is vital to us, you know that."

"You're vital to me." She said indignantly. "What if you die out there?"

Luke looked intensely into her eyes. "The fear of dying does not phase me anymore," Luke declared, recalling all his dances with death. "I would rather die a hero then watch other heroes die."

She frowned but nodded in understanding. "You never fail to do the right thing you know."

Luke force pulled his lightsaber from off the nightside table. "I will see you in no time." He closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway of the government building.

Suddenly, Luke faltered and fell to the ground gripping his head. The pain sent shockwaves through his mind as something dark penetrated his mental barrier. He focused hard on the intruder and screamed when the intruder pushed further and further into his mind. His memories were tossed before him like rocks. All of the knowledge he had learned from the Jedi books rose before him. Then abruptly, it ended.

"Luke! What happened?"

Luke did not process who said the words, he just responded, "I have to find Omacar."


	19. Chapter 19

Omacar raised a hood over his head and crept silently into a crowd going straight for the spaceport. He knew that the rebellion was looking for him now, and that meant trouble. All he knew was the location of where he needed to be.

Dekka IV.

But getting there was the hard part. He was weaponless, without money, and barely over twelve years old. He had little to no chance of convincing a pilot to take him off the planet. Yet, he knew that he had to go. Something had told him to leave.

"Omacar! Are you out there?" A familiar voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd. "Keep searching. He has to be here."

"Had he felt the vision too?" Omacar thought to himself, recalling the crisp voice of an ancient power that had entered his mind days before. He closed off his mind as tight as he could hoping to block Luke from sensing his presence.

"Hey! You!" A rebel guard shouted from nearby.

Omacar dipped his head and kept moving to try to avoid the man's gaze.

"He's over here, sir!" The guard shouted.

Omacar threw off his hood and used the force to pull the guard's blaster from his arms. He clicked the safety off and blasted twice into the air.

"Omacar! Stop!" Luke shouted as he came into the plaza. The crowd surrounding them was anxiously scurrying out of the way. "What you saw in that vision is not what you think it is. Leaving now will only get you killed!"

"So you did see it then," Omacar said, slowly aiming the blaster towards Luke. "What did you think? Were you scared, Luke?" He took a pot shot at Luke and sprinted off back into the crowd.

Luke instinctively clicked on his lightsaber and redirected the shot into the sky. Luke mustered all of his power and successfully force sprinted at blazing speeds into the masses. He reached out with his mind trying to pinpoint where Omacar had gone, but something was blocking his search. Suddenly, the same powerful dark force that penetrated his mind days prior blasted back into his brain.

"Foolish Jedi." A loud cackling voice shattered into his mind. "Do not chase the boy any longer. He is mine!" A powerful ear-splitting laugh overflowed Lukes mind.

Luke felt himself slipping into blackness.

* * *

 _"You seem lost."_

Luke opened his eyes and found himself lying inside of a solid white room. The only object inside of the room besides himself was the blue glow of Ben Kenobi.

"Ben? Where am I?"

Ben put his hands together and looked down at him. _"I had to put you here."_

"Why? Ben, what is this place?"

 _"This is a fragile part of your mind that is being protected by my use of the force. You took quite the mental beating."_

"Who keeps pushing their way into my head?" Luke asked, still trying to understand.

 _"Someone you don't want to tangle with right now."_

Luke tried to stand, but he found himself having little to no energy. "Why am I so tired? What's going on outside of my head?"

 _"You are lying in a hospital bed."_

"Is Omacar gone?"

Obi-Wan paused for a moment and sighed. _"In more ways than just off the planet, yes. It has been a week since the incident."_

"You think the dark side has taken him for good?"

 _"I do."_

Luke gave up his efforts to stand and laid his head down, staring at the blank ceiling above. "I failed him, Ben. I failed him like I failed the rest of them."

 _"The boy might be gone, but this was his doing. If he trusted you this would have never happened."_

Luke closed his eyes. He smelled the soft air of the Tatooine desert. Home felt so far away in the distant galaxy now.

Then abruptly he drifted off again back into nothingness.


	20. Chapter 20

The dropships carrying the imperial drill miners finally reached Dekka IV's surface. Each was incredibly large, nearly doubling the size of a normal walker. Squads of accompanying stormtroopers unloaded and started making their way off into the unknown.

"Etheler, what is the status of the drills?" Shulo asked while glancing up from the hologram table.

"Each drill has made it securely to the ground," Etheler responded. "Shall I order them to be fueled?"

"Immediately lieutenant. The faster we enter these caves, the faster we strike the very heart of the rebellion." Shulo smirked from his chair.

Etheler suddenly felt his stomach drop. "Admiral? You are getting a transmission from Coruscant. Would you like to accept it?"

"I would." Shulo tensed his fist.

"Admiral Shulo! It is always a pleasure." Darth Vader's blue holographic outline emerged from the holo table. "I have a request for you."

Shulo marshaled all the respect he could into his reply."Of course, Lord Vader."

"I am bringing my star destroyer into orbit. In advance, I would like to halt your immediate destruction of the caves on Dekka IV."

"Why is that, sir?"

"The caves the rebels have been mining hold a lot more significance than previously believed. It would be," Vader paused and exhaled heavily, "an absolute tragedy if we lost their contents."

"Understood my lord. Anything more?" Shulo silently wished there would be nothing else.

Vader breathed softly for a moment before saying, "You have a new threat against your forces, Admiral. I have felt a great disturbance in the force. I have made it my personal mission to seak out this threat. Until we meet again, Admiral Shulo."

The hologram clicked off. Shulo dropped in his chair feeling the stress melt away.

Etheler turned and looked out at the dusty planet below. "What could cause Lord Vader himself to come here?"

"I don't know," Shulo said, placing a hand on his face. "But whatever it is, we must remain alert."

* * *

Luke opened his eyes.

"Luke! You're awake! I was beginning to be concerned." Kyla ran to his side and took his hand.

Luke looked up at her and smiled. His head was pounding. "What happened to me?"

A medical droid stepped to his side. "Brain activity faltered for approximately one hour. Something disrupted every part of your brain, but you somehow survived."

 _Ben._

"How long have I been in here?" Luke asked, quietly dropping the hand from his head. He tried to push himself upright, but he found himself with little energy.

The droid wandered back to a desk full of tools. It turned it's head at him and replied, "One week."

Luke abruptly remembered what was going on."What about Dekka IV?"

Kyla sighed and answered, "The operation was suspended due to Omacar's little stunt. Since your blackout, the Empire has knocked out all long-range communication between us and Dekka IV. Right now, they're fighting on their own."

"Mon Mothma hasn't sent anything?" Somehow he already knew the answer.

Kyla squeezed his hand. "Nothing."

Luke threw himself upright with all the energy he could muster.

"Luke, you should-"

Luke interrupted her and said, "I need to go to Dekka IV now. Omacar is in danger. Something is drawing him to that planet, and it wants me to stay away." He turned and looked off at the doorway.

"Maybe you should stay away?" Kyla suggested.

"Not this time." He began walking toward the door. He glanced at her. "I have to go, Kyla. Please understand." He clicked the panel on the wall and walked out.

The outside of the medical bay was lined with an entire unit of guards. Each one had turned to the door at the noise of its opening.

One of the guards spoke up, "Luke? Where are you going?"

"I have to find Mon Mothma. Do you know where she might be?"

The guard was taken aback. "She will be in the command room. Do you need help? We can assist-"

Luke gave them no time to answer. He turned down the hall and stumbled off towards the command room. He tried to calm the beating in his head, but whatever had caused it had done a good job of it. All he could remember was the cackling of evil laughter. Something about that laugh filled Luke with a fear he could not restrain.

Mon Mothma was standing alone at a holo table with three other officials. She looked up at Luke as he approached. "How are you, Luke?"

He disregarded the question and replied, "I need a ship as soon as possible."

She looked at him and bowed her head. "Luke. Look at this." She pointed down at the holo table before her.

Luke approached and felt his stomach drop. The table showed hundreds of stormtroopers marching towards the mining village at the eastern side of the planet. "How many rebels are left fighting?"

Mon Mothma bowed her head. "I'm afraid they are down to only two hundred. Maybe even less. Going there now would be a suicide mission."

Luke frowned. "I need to beat the odds here." He pulled up the travel time from Solaris to Dekka IV. "Two days. That is more than enough time if I can get a straight shot from here to there right now." He looked sincerely into her eyes. "I need to find Omacar."

She looked down at the table and considered him for a long moment. "Go." She pointed to the hangar bay. "Your X-Wing will be prepared for you along with your R-2 unit. Good luck, Luke."


	21. Chapter 21

Omacar stepped off a transport shuttle and looked around at the space station. He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out three credits. He gave them to the pilot and faked a grin. He had finally made it to Dekka IV. Granted, he was on the far side of the planet where the Empire had taken over the central city.

"Better than nothing." He said to himself as he walked forth into the rush of people.

There were stormtroopers outside of every building. In the crowded streets, merchants shouted names of materials and food items. The entirety of the city seemed to be trying to sell all of their goods as soon as possible. The frantic noises gave Omacar a headache.

A shrill coldness grasped at Omacar's mind. A dark voice splintered into his head. "Good. You have made it as planned. Find my accomplice at the Dubringer weapon house. They will take you to me." The tense grip let go as the force left his mind.

He grasped at his head, realizing he had fallen in the street. He lifted himself upright and looked around. People rushed past not even noticing his fall. He felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"You alright, kid?" A tall man asked.

Without hesitation, Omacar raised a hand and instinctively force pushed the man into a traders cart. He turned to realize his mistake as three stormtroopers were rushing to the scene. He clasped two hands together and felt a rush of force flow through his body. Suddenly, he vanished without a trace.

The invisibility strained his mind terribly, but it allowed him enough time to escape the commotion. He let go of the invisibility and let out a deep breath. He raised an arm while he caught up with his breathing. A small screen clicked on showing the general path to the location of the weapon house. He looked up the street and found a giant red building with a massive logo plastered on the front. Two guards stood stationary outside.

Instead of going through the main entrance, he followed an alleyway leading to the back of the building. He approached a scanner and put a hand to it. He waited and felt sweat dripping from his head.

"Omacar Zudai." A robotic voice spit out.

"Zudai-" He was cut off by the door sliding open. He made a mental note to ask where the name Zudai had come from.

He stepped into a long hallway lit only by the neon light from the ceiling. Several pieces of artwork sat silently on the walls seemingly watching him as he walked. An astromech droid rolled by beeping happily. He walked through an archway covered in some sort of native plant. Inside he found a single man reading a book by a fire.

"You may approach." He said softly from his chair. "I don't bite!" He giggled, but his voice seemed worn and had very little strength left.

"Are you the contact?" Omacar asked, not moving from his spot.

"I am many things." The man said as he put down his book. "But, your contact?" He paused for a moment while he repositioned himself in his chair, "Is not me."

"Do you know where I can find them?" Omacar asked growing impatient.

"Of course I do." The man replied. "They will be with you soon. Until then, why don't you take a seat."

Omacar hesitantly approached keeping his eyes locked on the man. As the man came into view, he realized just how old the man actually was. He was blind in one eye and had deep wrinkles from head to toe.

"Surprised?" The man asked seeing the puzzled look on Omacar's face.

Omacar tried to regain a neutral facial expression. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

The man blinked. "I have seen much in my long life. I have seen empires rise and fall, Jedi and Sith clash, even moons crash into other moons!" He smiled slightly, "Yet, I have not seen a face like yours before."

"What's so special about my face?" Omacar said.

"The eyes hold wonders, you know!" The man said, putting out a hand. "Do you wish to hear more?"

Omacar felt his curiosity rising. "What do you mean?"

"Give me your palm and you shall see."

Omacar stared into the man's pale face and gave him his palm. A sudden rush of cold whipped through the room. All of the surrounding walls disappeared and were replaced with the blue of the sky. Omacar looked down noticing the floor had turned to vibrant green grass. A singular wooden building sat nearby. Outside of the house was a man and a woman.

The man was tall and wore a particularly warm looking assortment of robes. He stood completely still. From the light of the sun, Omacar noticed a logo on the front of his robes. It was red and had some sort of cross design stitched into it.

The woman was frightened and suddenly said, "Please. He is barely two months old. Taking him now would be too much of a hassle for you."

The man didn't respond. Instead, he raised an ancient looking cube from his pocket and showed it to her. It opened showering the surrounding air with blue holographic light. A large timer sprouted from the inside of the cube. It was at thirty seconds and counting down.

The woman grimaced. "Please. I know what deal we made, but he's my son-"

The man cut her off and said in a booming deep voice, "My son."

The countdown hit zero. The man raised a hand and gripped it tight. The woman rose from the ground grasping at her throat.

He looked at her and said hoarsely, "May the force guide you through your death."

She dropped to the floor motionlessly. The man opened the front door to the house and came out moments later with a small baby boy in his arms. He then held up a hand and disappeared into nothingness with the boy.

Omacar felt a familiar blast of wind rush past him. The old man reappeared in his chair at the base of the fireplace.

"What the hell was that?" Omacar shouted.

The man considered the question for a moment and replied, "That is not for me to understand. I only show the picture, you must find out the story behind it."

Omacar was about to say something when the door behind them opened. A small old lady walked into the room and smiled.

"Omacar! I welcome your arrival and I am deeply glad you made it here safely."

"Are you the contact?" Omacar asked, desperately hoping he could leave.

She smiled again. "Yes. You can call me Elisa. Follow me, please."


	22. Chapter 22

Luke breathed in hard as his X-Wing fell out of hyperspace. He looked out at the incoming planet and its surrounding ships. There was an entire blockade of star destroyers except for around the outside of the main city. That was his target.

"R-2? Can you pull us closer towards the city side of the planet? I'm not trying to get caught by their scanners."

R-2 beeped a reply and shifted the ship's trajectory more on course. The planet seemed relatively similar to the maps he had seen, but the mapping of the blockade had been highly inaccurate. The Empire had the entire planet under their control.

"What's so special about this planet? They have an entire fleet here."

R-2 beeped a reply that rolled across the screen on the dash.

"Yeah, but if they want more than just the mines, what are they looking for?"

The X-Wing pulled into the atmosphere of the planet, flying quickly through the dust of the sky, and emerging above the space station. They were able to slip through the stream of ships without being detected.

He gently landed his X-Wing inside of the nearest hangar bay. He pulled off his helmet and put it off to the side. He opened his mind and felt nothing nearby except for some other pilots landing nearby. He kicked open the cockpit and jumped out onto the cold concrete.

"R-2, you're not getting cold feet now, are you?"

R-2 held out a beep and rolled towards Luke. The two of them moved onwards towards a dug man sitting in a toll booth. He was holding a playing card in one hand and a rather large mug of Carbon Freeze.

"What you want?" He said abruptly as they approached.

"We need to keep our X-Wing safe here for as long as possible. We have the credits to pay, too."

The dug man smiled. "I can do," He paused and looked up at a screen out of sight, "Two days maximum, 100 credits per night, and I will personally take responsibility for your ship's wellbeing."

Luke was about to argue about the ridiculous price, but he thought better of it and shook the man's hand. Together, Luke and R-2 both ventured off into the city keeping a close eye on the stormtroopers all around them. Luke opened his mind, searching for a sign of Omacar's whereabouts, but found nothing but the scattered thoughts of stressed civilians.

"Seems like these people don't like the Empire rubbing their noses in their lives, huh?" Luke said quietly.

R-2 beeped an affirmative. The streets seemed to be clearing for the night as shop owners closed their various stores and carts down. Luke sensed the threat of them being caught rise, so he glanced around at the various buildings looking for a place to stay. A giant neon sign labeled "Weapon house, come get your guns and stay for the night!" caught his eye.

The entrance was closed with a large bodyguard standing out front. Luke approached cautiously keeping his hand on his lightsaber.

"What are you here for?" The man said in a very deep voice.

"We need a place to stay."

The man raised an arm and pulled up a holographic mapping of the rooms of the building. He grunted and said, "There's one left, but you have you to share with old man Morris."

Luke wanted to ask who the man was, but he decided to take his chances and pay upfront for the room. As they entered the main hall, Luke noticed the large variety of artwork on the walls. Each and every one of the paintings was ancient, yet seemingly glowing with some sort of power.

Luke reached out with his mind, and to his surprise, he felt a large presence of concentrated force surrounding the pieces. They found a staircase leading down to the lower parts of the building. The building itself was comprised of three floors. The first, being the gun shop, was the most open of all three. The basement, along with the third floor, was all apartments rented to commoners of the city. R-2 conveyed an anxious beep to Luke as they approached their room.

As they entered, the smell of honey sprouted into existence. An old man was sitting by a fireplace sipping a cup of hot chocolate. The walls were bare except for a large mural of a tree. As luke approached he noticed the grey in the man's eyes.

"Hello there." The man said without looking up from the fireplace. "Do not be afraid. Whatever that guard said about me is probably because he can't beat me in Sabak!" He let out a chuckle.

Luke smiled and sat down in a chair next to him."Who are you?"

The man put down his drink. "Peculiar question! I suppose you know my name is Morris, yet names are often lost in translation. They don't truly describe who you are, do they? It's who _you become_ that gives it meaning."

Luke was puzzled by the length of the man's response. "I suppose, yes, yet I do think there is some value to our names."

Morris smiled and looked up at Luke for the first time. "It's hard to believe that after all these years, I can still recognize your face through the haze of my eye."

Luke chuckled nervously. "You must be mistaken! We have never met. I'm-"

"Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker. It is good to see that there is still hope."


	23. Chapter 23

Luke rose from his seat and motioned towards his lightsaber.

"Who are you?"

The old man frowned. "You really think I pose a threat to you, Luke?"  
"Tell me who you are," Luke stated firmly.

The old man took a sip from his mug before whispering into the silence. "I am a forgotten old man who happens to pay very close attention to the will of the force. Nothing more, nothing less."

Luke felt his neck tingle and flicked his mental attention on the corridor outside the room. Three stormtroopers had just entered the establishment and were closing in on Luke's position.

The old man glanced an eye at the door. "I believe you have company! See that painting on the wall?" He gestured at the door shaped painting.

Luke raised a hand and felt a secret lock mechanism click within the painting's hidden door. It opened slowly and revealed a large open tunnel.

"Go." The old man said. "I will cover your tracks."

Luke didn't hesitate as he rushed through the door with R2-D2 gliding close behind. The door slammed as they entered the barren cavern.

"R-2, get a reading on where we are as soon as you can."

R-2 beeped a reply as an antenna zipped out from the top of his head. Luke ignited his lightsaber and peered around at the freshly lit cave. It had bare rock walls besides several torches that were recently extinguished.

"Seems like someone has been down here recently," Luke said as they marched through the empty space. "Wait, do you hear that?"

Luke put a hand to his head and focused intensely on the distant voices ahead. He used a hearing amplification technique to make out their voices.

"He has been waiting for you. He says you are important beyond belief!" An old woman said through closes teeth. She sounded worried, almost shaking as she spoke.

Then suddenly Luke's attention was shifted from the voices to an unmistakable unbalance in the force. Darth Vader was on the planet. He had felt his presence so many times before during their past encounters. It was distinct and covered his mind.

"The force is overflowing here," Luke said as he pulled himself back to the present. "I heard voices up ahead. Let's get going."

Luke and R-2 rushed up the halls of the inner mountains. The deeper they went, the more dirt and cobwebs surrounded the walls. Ancient paintings of big winged creatures and races unknown to Luke scattered the floor. The force grew stronger within the cave after every step.

"Wait," Luke said, holding up his hand to halt their movement. "I can hear her again."

"No. We were not followed." The woman said, still shaking.

"Are you quite sure?" A deep booming voice answered. It was almost a whisper, and then suddenly his massive voice rang out across the cave. "Because I believe you are quite mistaken!"

"What do you mean, sir?" She said, seemingly keeping her cool. "I'm quite sure…"

Then suddenly the eerie sound of choking filled the silence, and seconds later, the sound of her lifeless body hit the floor.

"We must leave, my son." The man whispered. "This way."

Luke ignited his lightsaber and sprinted down the passage. The flow of the force filled his speed as he burst into the torch-lit room. He surveyed the chamber, searching for signs of life.

There was nothing except for the woman's cold frame.

No signs of an exit or a secret passage. Just a small table of sorts with a wide array of switches and nobs.

"They're gone. How is this possible?" Luke said as R-2 entered the room. Then suddenly, it clicked. He punched a red button on the table and watched as a secret opening appeared in the ceiling.

Laying out two hands on the floor, Luke channeled all his power into a force leap that sent him flying out of the cave. When he landed, he quickly lifted his lightsaber and glanced around.

They were long gone.


End file.
